Caterpillar uses noise to chase off rivals

Posted: Tuesday, September 18, 2001

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - A common type of moth caterpillar uses scraping and drumming sounds to signal "this is my leaf, back off" when an intruder approaches. In the territorial confrontations the resident caterpillar usually is able to chase off the stranger, though not always.

And in a few instances prolonged encounters led to head butting before accounts were settled.

"Generally within a few minutes a decision has been made. It's fun to watch them," said Jayne E. Yack of Carlton University in Ottawa, Canada.

This is the first indication that caterpillars can use sound vibrations as a means of communication, according to a team of researchers led by Yack, who is currently a visiting researcher at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.